Full fashioned knitting machine



May 28, 1935.- STRAUCH r AL 2,003,095

FULL FASHIONED KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 16, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l Pflll in y --carrier ar k FBG. 2 M H HI [I ----cfl 'riibar NVENTORS GEORGE A- STRAUCH EMIL F. RICHTER J. EHRNEST GARRETT By ATTORNEY y 28, 5- G. A. STRAUCH ET AL 2,003,095

FULL FASHIONED KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 16, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS= 54 GEORGE A. STRAUCH EMIL F- RCHTER J.EARNEST GARRETT F v I 'k ATTOR N E Y Pat nted May 28, 1935 FULL FASHIONED KNITTING MACHINE George A. Strauch, Rockledge, and Emil F.

Richter and Joseph Earnest Garrett, Philadelphia, Pa., assignors to Artcrait Silk Hosiery Mills, Inc., Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application April 16,

5 Claims.

This invention relates to full fashionedknitting machines and more particularly to improvements in the mechanism for actuating the thread carrier bars of such machines.

Full-fashioned machines of the type to which this invention appertains are characterized in that they are provided with a plurality of yarn carrier bars which extend longitudinally of the machine, each of these bars being provided with m as many thread carriers as there are knitting sections to the machine. These thread carrier bars, which may number as many as seven or more per machine, are respectively reciprocated in such manner as to cause the thread carriers totravel back and forth to lay the thread in front of the sinkers and dividers which are respectiv'ely associated with the banks of needles of theseveral sections of the machine.

Various attempts have been made heretofore and prior to this invention to provide in a knitting machine of the above type means for selectively actuating in a predetermined sequence several of the carrier bars, one such well-known means being the so-called striping attachmen well-known in the art. In addition, various selector mechanisms have been employed from time to time for selectively actuating several of the carrier bars, but none of them have been entirely satisfactory for the reason that their successiul operation depends largely upon the use of a definite number of carrier bars in the knitting of ahosiery fabric, this being due to the fact that these prior selector mechanisms for the carrier bars were not sufliciently flexible in operation to permit any desired plural number of carrier bars to be actuated selectively and as desired to indiscriminately employ the several carrier bars in the knitting of the successivean exceedingly uniform appearance in the texture of the fabric, all shadows, stripes, rings and the like being substantially eliminated.

Other objects andadvantages of the invention 55 will appear more fully hereinafter.

throughout the fabric being knitted as to produce 1034, Serial no. 120,716 .(Cl. 66-127) bination, construction, location and relative arrangement of parts, all as will appear more fully hereinafter, as shown in the accompanying drawings and as finally pointed out in the appended claims.

In the said drawings:-

Figure 1 is an end elevational view, partly in section, of a full-fashioned knitting machine embodying the carrier selector mechanism con-= structed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view of a portion of .the button-equipped chain for effecting the actuation of the carrier bar selector mechanism;

Figure 3 is an enlarged end elevational view of the chain and the selector mechanism immediate- 1y associated therewith; I Figure 4 is a front elevational viewof the mechanism shown in Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a front elevational view of'a portion of the thread carrier bar arrangement.

' vention has been illustrated as being embodied in a full-fashioned flat type knitting machine, it will be observed that the thread carrier bars to which reference has heretofore been made are designated generally by the reference numeral l0, it being understood that in accordance with standard practice in the art these carrier bars, which extend in substantially parallel relation longitudinally through the entire length of the machine, are disposed at an elevation somewhat above and immediately to the rear of the longitudinally spaced banks of needles (not shown). It will be observed that in the machine illus-,

trated seven thread carrier bars I 0 are employed,

the number of which may be varied, accordingly as the machine may be a legger, a footer" or a single unit machine, from two to seven or more bars.

Inasmuch as the operation of the knitting machine considered as a whole, including the operation of the narrowing motion and of the Coulier and friction mechanisms, remains unaltered and unaffected by the present invention, it is not deemednecessary herein to describe any parts of the knitting machine except such as relate peculiarly to and cooperate with the thread carrier bars and those parts of the present invention which are associated therewith, it being understood, of course, that each thread carrier bar it is provided with as many longitudinally spaced thread carriers (not shown) as there are sections or knitting heads tothe machine, anysuitable Referring now to the drawings wherein the in-- The invention consists substantially in the commeans being employed for delivering to each thread carrier a thread or yarn from an individual cone. These several yarns thus severally delivered to the knitting head of the machine may be identical in their physical characteristics, such as color, denier, twist, material, etc., or they may be radically dissimilar in these characteristics, depending upon the type of fabric to be knitted. Thus, if it be desired to knit a hosiery fabric the texture of which is desired to be uniformly the same throughout and wherein all shadows, rings and other defects due to inherent variations in the physical characteristics of a single length of yarn are desired to be eliminated, by delivering a plurality of similar yarns from individual cones to a number of thread carriers so that each carrier cooperates with the needle bank to produce a separate course of knitted loops with no two adjacent courses formed of the same length of yarn, any variations in the physical characteristics of the yarns employed will be so distributed through the fabric as not to appear ,as stripes or shadow lines therein.

On the other hand, a plurality of yarns of distinctly different physical characteristics may be selectively delivered to the knitting head of the machine to produce an entirely different effect in the knitted fabric, such, for example, as is disclosed in the copending application of Jack Kugelman, Serial No. 717,273, filed March 24, 1934, wherein yarns of different physical characteristics are employed in such manner that no adjacent or successive courses of the knitted fabric are formed of the same length of yarn. The present invention facilitates the production of knitted fabrics wherein the interlooped courses thereof are formed of diflerent'yams, regardless whether the latter are similar or dissimilar in their physical characteristics, and moreover permits the several different types of yarns to be distributed throughout the knitted fabric in accordance with a predeterminedly selected regular pattern or non-uniformly or irregularly, as may be desired, the mechanism being so operative that it is unnecessary for a particular carrier bar to operate constantly in fixed sequence with respect to the remaining bars. In other words, it is possible by means of the mechanism to be presently described for the several carrier bars to operate sequentially or one or more of the bars may be thrown into operation more or less frequently than are the remaining bars.

As has. already been mentioned, the several thread carrier bars III are arranged for individual reciprocation longitudinally of the machine by a mechanism not shown herein but which is well understood in the art, this mechamsm being operative to longitudinally shift an arm I l which is adapted to selectively engage one or the other of the several carrier bars. This bar-engaging arm II is slidably mounted within a supporting member I2 therefor having a trunnion l3 which is splined upon a horizontally disposed rock shaft I4, the member l2 being longitudinally slidable upon the shaft [4 in such manner that when the arm H is in engagement with one 'or the other of the yarn carrier bars III the reciprocable movement of the member I2 will be imparted to that one of the carrier bars with which the arm II is in engagement. Normally, the arm H is in the depressed position relatively. to its supporting member l2, as shown in Figures 1 and 5, said arm being provided with a forwardly projecting lifting handle I! for raising the arm into inoperative position with respect to the carrier bars.

Keyed to the rock shaft l4, preferably at one end thereof, is an arm l6 (see Figure 1), the free end of which is connected by means of the arm I! to one arm of a bell crank lever la, the opposite arm of the latter being in turn connected through an arm i9, a pivoted lever 20, and an arm 2| to the rear end of a forwardly extending main lever 22 which is pivoted upon the machine frame, as at 23. The forward extremity of this main lever 22 projects forwardlytremity of the said main lever 22 is depressed from its position shown in Figure-I, the rock shaft I 4 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction to present the arm II for engagement with one or the other of the carrier bars III, the particular carrier bar which is so engaged being dependent upon the .extent to which the forward extremity of the main lever 22 is depressed from the horizontal position shown.

As appears most clearly in Figure l, the main lever 22 has joumalled thereon a cam roller 24 which coacts with a cam 25 which is keyed to and rotates with the main cam shaft 26 of the knitting machine, this cam 26 being so shaped and timed that as each of the several carrier bars I0 reach the limit of their stroke in either direction the high spot 21 of the cam engages the roller 24 of the lever 22 to raise the latter into the position shown, thus rotating the rock shaft I4 sufliciently to effect the complete disengagement of the arm II from the particular carrier bar with which it might have been engaged. In the particular illustration shown, provision has been made for the actuation of only five of the carrier bars by means of and in accordance with the present invention, the bars so intended to be selectively engaged by the arm I I being designated a, b, c, d and e. Thus, in Figure 1, it will-be observed that with the cam roller in the position shown therein the bar engaging arm II is in temporarily inoperative position with respect to the several thread carrier bars' a, b, c, d and e. Automatically, however, as any one of these latter bars commence their movement in one direction or another, the cam 25 is rotated to present its low surface 28 beneath the cam roller 24 in consequence of which the forward extremity of the lever 22 drops downwardly and socauses the rock shaft l4 to oscillate suillciently to present the arm H for engagement with one or the other of the bars a, b, c, d and e. The forward extremity of the main lever 22 is connected to a fixed point on the machine frame by a relatively heavy coil spring 29, which latter tends constantly to draw the said lever downwardly sufliciently to maintain the cam roller 24 constantly in engagement with the periphery of the cam 25. The mechanism for governing the extent to which the lever 22 may drop when the cam 25 is rotated sufficiently to present its low surface 28 beneath the cam roller ,24 will 'now be described.

This latter mechanism is mounted upon the front of the main frame of the knitting machine and essentially comprises a plurality of stops which are selectively movable into the vertical plane of the main lever 22 for limiting the downward movement of the latter, a separate stop being provided for each carrier bar which is intended to be operated in accordance with the present invention 'and the several stops being of (respectively different lengths. ,gis appears most clearly in Figures 1 to 3, live such stops are shown, one for each'of the bars a, b, c, d and -e, these stops being respectively designated 30, 3|, 32, 33 and 34, each of these stops being in the form of stud-like members secured toand extending substantially perpendicularly to a horizontally disposed bar 35.

The bars 35 are arranged in substantially paraliel relation, each being disposed for slidable movement within suitable guide-ways formed in a fixed supporting block 35, the opposite extremities of the bars 35 projecting freely beyond opposite edges of the said block 36. A coil spring 31 interconnects the outer extremity of each bar 35. and the supporting block in such manner as to constantly urge the bars 35 inwardly or toward the machine frame. In their normal position, all of the bars35 assume positions such that the upstanding stops 30-44 supported thereby are disposed in a common vertical lane spaced except stop 30 are shown thus offset from the vertical plane of the lever 22. It will be observed at this point that the forward extremity of the lever 22 is confined between the arms 38-38 of a forked member 39 whereby to prevent lateral displacement of the lever out of its normal vertical plane of movement.

Fixed to and extending forwardly of the main frame of the knitting machine is a stub shaft 40 upon which are journalled a plurality of bell crank levers 4|, each of the latter being characterized by the provision of arms 42 and 43 extending substantially at right angles to each other. The upper free extremity of the arms 42 of the several levers 4| respectively engage the inner extremities of the slidable bars 35, while the outer extremities of the arms 43 of the levers 4| commonly rest upon a rest-bar 44 extending in parallel relation to the stubshaft 40.

Also extending forwardly from the machine frame are a pair ofshafts 45 and 46 arranged in substantially vertical alignment below the arms 43 of the bell crank levers 4|, these shafts 45 and 46 having respectively journalled thereon chain wheels 41 and 48 over the periphery of which runs a continuous chain 49. This chain 43 is provided with a plurality of -uniformly spaced parallel cross bars 50 upon which are mounted in any suitable manner a plurality of lever actuating buttons 5|. It will be observed that in the particular illustration shown (see Figure 3), five sets of these buttons are provided upon the chain, one set for each carrier bar" intended to be operated, the several sets being arranged in rows respectively disposed in the yertical planes of the arms 43 of the bell crank levers 4|.

It will be observed that as soon as one of these buttons 5| contacts an arm 43 of one of the levers 4|, the latter is rocked about the stub shaft 40 sufliciently to cause the free upper extremity of the arm 42 of said lever to shift its stop bar 35 associated therewith outwardly and against the action of the coil spring 31 to position the particular stop carried by the bar so shifted in the vertical plane of movement of the main lever 22. In Figure 4, the stop 30 is shown positioned in the vertical plane of movement of the main lever 22 by the action of one of the buttons 5| upon that meet the bell crank levers 4| immediately associated with the stop 30.

By changing the positions of the buttons 5| upon the chain 43 the several thread carrier bars may be-selectively actuated in any desired order, the order of operation of the several carriers being dependent entirely upon the relative positions of the buttons 5| controlling the operation thereof. The order of operation of the several carriers may be uniformly repeated or it may be indiscriminately varied through each cycle of operation of the chain 49. Thus, by reference to Figure 2, it will be observed that the buttons 5| are arranged in five parallel rows, the buttons in each of these rows being adapted to respectively actuate the carrier bars a, b, c, d and e through the levers 4|, the stops 30, 3|, 32, 33 and 34 and the main lever 22. With the buttons 5| arranged upon the chain as shown in Figure 2, the carrier bars will be actuated for the portion of the chain shown in the following orderz-a, b, c, d, e, c, d, e, b, d, c, a and e. It will thus appear that the order of operation of theseveral carrier bars may be varied according to a uniform or a non-uniform pattern, as desired, and further that the number of bars to be selectively actuated may vary from two to as many as are provided in the machine. Thus, by eliminating all but the last two rows of the buttons 5| in the chain of Figure 2, only carrier bars d and e will be actuated, it being merely necessary in such instance to so arrange the buttons in the said two rows that the carrier bar at is caused to move first in one direction and then in the opposite direction before carrier bar e is thrown into operation, the latter being also caused to moveilrst in one direction and then in the opposite direction befor carrier bar (1 is again actuated.

In"--fact, the mechanism above described is sufiici ently flexible to insure the operation of only one of the carrier bars should that be desired, this being effected merely by the expedient of removing all but one of the rows of buttons 5|, the buttons in the row so retained being arranged in close tandem relation so that as each course of the fabricis knitted the next succeeding button in the row operates upon the same lever 4| to maintain the arm II in engagement with the thread carrier bar being operated.

It will be understood; of course, that the buttons 5| are arranged in such longitudinally spaced relation upon the chain 49 that successive buttons operate respectively to insure the knitting of successive courses of the fabric, the sole requirement being to so arrange the buttons relatively to each other that as any one button goes into operation the thread carrier bar which is governed by that particular button is stationedproperly for engagement by the bar-engaging arm H, which latter, of course, is at one or the other of two extreme positions. At this point, it will be understood that the carrier bar-engaging arm H is caused to/reciprocate by means of the friction-block which is well known in the art as the mechanism ordinarily employed for eflecting the reciprocation of the thread carrier bars, the arm serving in the present instance as the connecting element between the several carrier bars a to e and the reciprocable frictionblock mechanism (not shown). The connection between the arm II and each of the carrier bars is preferably efiected in the manner best shown'in Figure 5 wherein it will be observed that each of the bars to be operated is provided with a suitably located notched member 52 within thenotch 53 of which is adapted to be seated the extremity 54 of the arm H. of course, the usual stop means (not shown) are provided for limiting the movement of the several carriers in either direction, the stops being operative to locate the notched members 52 of each thread carrier bar in proper position for receiving the arm. ,II when the latter is at one extremity or the other of its predeterminedly fixed stroke.

- In the operation of the mechanism herein described, the chain 49 has imparted thereto a motion which is so timed relatively to the motions of the other parts of the knitting machine as to present the several-buttons II thereof successively in operating position beneath one or the other ,of the bell crank levers 4| immediately after a particular carrier bar reaches the limit of its stroke and before a second carrier barcommences its movement in the opposite direction. This intermittent movement of the chain 49 is effected by means of an intermittently operated pawl 55 (see Figures 3 and 4) operating upon' a ratchet wheel 56 which is keyed to the same shaft to which is secured the chain wheel 41. Operating in timed relation to this ratchet and pawl mechanism is the cam 25, the high spot 21 of which is presented beneath the cam roller 2l of the main-lever 22 at the instant when a par ticular thread carrier bar reaches the limit of its stroke in either direction in consequenceof which the forward extremity of said main lever 22 is raised sufficiently to permit anyone of the stops 30 to 34 to be shifted "lateralLv by means of its associated bell crank lever 4| into position immediately beneath the said lever 22, the stop so shifted thus functioning to limit the extent to which the lever 22 may bedepressed. Depending upon which one of the stops is so immediately beneath the outer extremity of the lever 22, the latter operates immediately as the cam 25 is rotated to present its low surface 28 beneath the cam roller 24 to effect the engagement of the arm II with one or the other of the thread carrier bars, this latter engagement being eflected. only when all of the thread car-- rier bars areat rest at one or the other of their extreme limits of movement, this being the insta'nt when the notches 53 of the notched members respectively secured to the carrier bars are 'in alignment with the lower extremity 54 of the arm ll.

-' The invention is, of course, susceptible of various other changes and modifications from time to time without departing from the 'real' spirit or general principles thereof and. it is accordingly intended to claim the same broadly, as wellas specifically, as" indicated by the appended claims.

What is claimed as new and useful is:-

1. In a full-fashioned knitting machine, in combination, a plurality of reciprocable thread carrier bars, a rockable member adapted to engage any oneof said carrier bars to eifect its movement in, either direction, a main lever operative to'rook said member to varying degrees so as to eifeot its engagement with one or the other of said bara'a rectilinearly shiftable stop member for each carrier bar movable into position beneath said'main lever and adapted to govern the movement of said lever depending upon which of said carrier bars is to be actuated, each stop member being spring biased to normally maintain it in inoperative position with respect to said main lever, and means for selectively shifting said stop members in accordance with a predeterminedlyfixed order into operating-positions relatively to said main lever, said means including a plurality of hell crank levers directly engaging the several stop members and adapted to selectively shift the latter into lever-intercepting position against the restraining influence of the spring bias. to which each stop member is subjected.

2. In a full-fashioned knitting machine, in combination, a plurality of parallel thread carrier bars, a reciprocating arm adapted to engage any one of said bars for effecting the movement thereof in either direction, a lever operative upon said arm to effect its engagement with one or the other of said bars selectively as desired, means tending constantly to draw said lever downwardly whereby to cause said arm to rock outwardly and across the several carrier bars, a plurality of rectilinearly shiftable studs of varying heights-selectively positionable beneath said main lever whereby to limit the downward movement thereof, spring means associated with each of said shiftable stops fornormally retaining the latter in retracted position, and means for insuring positive alignment between said lever and each stop when the latter is shifted into lever-engaging position.

3. In a full-fashioned knitting machine, in combination, a plurality of thread carrier bars, a rock shaft, a bar-engaging member non-rotatiably but slidably mounted upon said rock shaft,

a lever system, including, a main lever, operative to rock said shaft through various'flxed angles whereby to" present said member in position to engage one or the other of said carrier bars to longitudinally move the latter, a plurality of rectilinearly shiftable stops independently and selectively actuable to'intercept said main lever whereby to fix said lever system in different positions, one such stop being provided for each carrier bar to be actuated, an endless chain having thereon means for actuating said stops in accordance with a predetermined order, a plurality of bell-crank levers directly engageable by said actuatlng means on the endless chain for selectively shifting said stops into lever-intercepting position and means for intermittently operating said chain to successively present the stop actuating means thereof in operating relation to said stops, said bell crank levers being respectively directly engageable with said shiftable stops and operative, independently of said main lever, to selectively position said stops beneath said main lever.

4. In a full-fashioned knitting machine, in combination, a plurality of thread carrier bars, a bar-ensuing member arranged for oscillation into and out of engagement with any one of said bars, a lever operative upon said member to vary the degree of oscillation thereof whereby to shift said member from one bar to another, a plurality of rectilinearly shiftable stops normally offset from the plane of movement of said lever, bellcrank levers directly associated with each stop for shifting the latter into lever intercepting relation, said stops terminating respectively at different elevations whereby the said lever is permitted to assume different positions depending upon which of said stops is in leverintercepting I position, and an endless chain having a plurality of buttons arranged in predeterminedly spaced relation and'adapted to directly engage said bellcrank levers selectively and in accordance with a pre-determlned order, I

into and out of engagementwith any one of said I bars, a lever operativeupon said member to vary the degree of'oscillation thereof whereby to shift said member fromLOne bar to another, a plurality Of rectilinearlyshiftable stops normally offset [5 from the plane of movement of said lever, said stops terminating respectively at difierent elevations whereby the said lever is permitted to assume difierent positions depending upon which of said stops is in the lever intercepting position, an endless chain having a plurality of buttons arranged in predeterminedly spaced relation and operative respectively to actuate said stop-shifting means, said buttons being arranged in rows corresponding in number to the number of carrier bars to be operated and being further in such relatively spaced relation that one button is provided for each movement of a carrier bar in either direction, and a plurality of bell-crank levers arranged in intervening relation between said chain and said shiitable stops, each of said bell-crank levers being arranged with one arm thereof resting upon said chain whereby said arm is successively engaged by all of the buttons in a given row thereof, while the other arm of the bell-crank lever is in engagement with one of said shiftable stops.

GEORGE A. STRAUCH.

. EMIL F. RICHTER.

J. EARNEST GARRETT. 

